[music]
Kai: Back now on The Takeaway, I'm Kai Wright in for Tanzina.
André: My beloveds, this is real, this is live, this is three dimensional.
[applause]
Kai: Actor André De Shields there taking part in something many of us haven't experienced in a long time, a live in-person performance. De Shields was part of an outdoor pop-up show in Times Square this week, one of a number of cultural events taking place this spring in New York City as part of a statewide effort to revitalize the arts sector. New York is also one of a growing number of states that are slowly allowing the return of limited capacity indoor performances starting this spring. That's in addition to other states like Texas and Mississippi, that are currently allowing venues to operate at full capacity.
While public health experts continue to urge caution, particularly when it comes to indoor events, there is a growing hope that the warmer weather along with more vaccinations can open up more possibilities for artists in the months ahead. Here with me now is Charles Williams, a pianist based in Kansas City and a board member for the American Jazz Museum. Charles, thanks for being here.
Charles: Thank you for having me.
Kai: Also with us is Miranda Haymon, a theatre writer and director based here in New York. Good to have you, Miranda.
Miranda: Thanks for having me as well.
Kai: Charles, you are in Missouri, where live concerts haven't been allowed to take place since last May. Have you performed in front of any audiences, either indoors or outdoors, since the state allowed concerts to start back up?
Charles: If I have, it's been at a very small capacity. Most likely, everything's really been canceled. [laughs]
Kai: What do you miss about it? Assuming you miss something about it. Prior to the pandemic, what did you get from a live audience as a performer?
Charles: You miss the energy that you get from the audience, because audience injects energy into the artists, and that makes them perform even just that much more because there are people present. You can just feel the vibe from each other.
Kai: There's a charm, even as an audience member, there's this connection with the artist that just doesn't exist over a screen, I guess.
Charles: Yes. It's like a heart-to-heart thing.
Kait: Miranda, as a theatre director, what did the audience mean to you before the pandemic?
Miranda: Well, the audience was the whole point of the thing really. Theater is defined as live bodies in a shared space. What is theater without that? That's been a question that I've certainly been asking myself and I think the industry, as we move through Zoom theatre and pre-recorded stuff, as well, is really contending with. What is our art form right now without liveness?
Kai: You're in the early stages of planning out a theater installation for this summer that could have a live in-person audience. What's it feel like to get back to directing after a year without in person shows?
Miranda: It's scary, to be honest. Scary to be the first. I will say that we are taking the utmost precautions, and we aren't planning on even having any live performers, to really keep the audiences and everyone involved safe. It's exciting. I did a site visit earlier this year and I was surprised at how emotional it was to be in a theater space again, even empty. Even darkened and dusty. It was really powerful, so I'm excited to be able to welcome folks back to just that. Even if we don't end up putting on anything, it was just nice to be there again.
Kai: You said it was scary, I assume you mean the health risk. Did you also mean just the fact of doing a performance live?
Miranda: Yes, certainly, as anyone would feel being the first of anything. There's a lot of pressure on us. Also, with the reckoning of racial injustice and systemic oppression that theater is also susceptible to, we really have a lot to say when we come back about what we want to not only do and how we want to reach our audiences more accessibly and safely, but also how we want to speak to everything that's happened in the past year, and really create something of a template of how to move forward.
Kai: Charles, what about that? As people come back in this particular moment, whenever we get back in this particular moment, I imagine this will show up in everybody's art, this moment we've been through. What do you think, how's it going to show up in your work do you think?
Charles: Well, I just hope that there'll be a greater appreciation for live music during this time, but we've learned a lot of things have been taken for granted. The musicians here will have more of an opportunity to play more once things start to open back up a little bit more. People will be more appreciative. I'm not saying that they're not but I'm talking about people that hire musicians may be like, "Hey, this is what kept us busy. This is what kept us putting food in front of the people while they listen to music, to have entertainment." That it might open maybe some better doors for musicians to have more gigs. Also, young musicians that are learning this art form, and how encouraged knowing, are they going to have a future in the arts?
Kai: Do you feel like, when you think about spring and summer, does getting back in front of live audiences seem like a possibility to you?
Charles: It seems like a greater possibility more. Maybe a bigger crowd. We've actually started to do some things here in Kansas City. Actually we just had a concert Saturday night at a Gem Theater. We had Denise Thimes in and we allowed 100 people to come in to watch the show, but we social distanced the auditorium. It was a great vibe there, even with her and her musicians. I got to talk to them afterward and they were happy. They were there to play and just be in front of a crowd,, even though it wasn't a big crowd.
Kai: Miranda, I wonder if all of this, when folks get back, will prompt rethinking of live performances in general? If there's something new that's going to come out of this or just about how people perform live. Do you think so? If so, what might change?
Miranda: The thing I'm most excited about is that as live performances are coming back, folks are really still thinking about how to maintain an at-home experience for folks who still might not feel comfortable coming out. For folks for whom it is still dangerous, or they have other access needs that don't make sense for them to come in person. I feel really excited that many theater companies, as they're talking about reopening, are still talking about maintaining a digital season, and doing digital programming. Even having an at-home experience that runs parallel to what is happening in person. That's what we're talking about, too, right?
I feel excited about the permanence of the how do we continue to create digital media? How can that have seasons be so much more abundant and rich and accessible?
Kai: It's certainly been cool to access a lot of stuff that I never would have gotten before the pandemic. Charles, I cannot be with a musician here and not take the opportunity to sneak in a hit of music. Something sort of like live, I guess. Can you play us something that you would be excited to play when you get a chance to be with a live audience again?
Charles: Gosh, there's so many things but I can just play you a little something here named My Wild Irish Rose. It's an older tune but we put a little jazz flair onto this.
Kai: Wonderful.
[music]
Kai: Man, Charles, that is so good for my soul. [chuckles]
Charles: Thank you.
Kai: On a day of hard news in particular, it's a reminder of what art and music can do for us.
Charles: Thank you so much. I appreciate that.
Kai: Charles Williams is a pianist based in Kansas City and a board member for the American Jazz Museum. Miranda Haymon is a theater writer and director based here in New York. Thanks so much to you both.
Charles: Thank you for having us.
Miranda: My pleasure.
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